Stocks end mixed on new 'fiscal cliff' warning

Nov. 26, 2012
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Traders work the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. / David Karp, AP

by USA TODAY

by USA TODAY

NEW YORK (AP) - Major stock indexes ended mixed Monday after a warning from White House economists dampened what had been a huge weekend for retailers.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished down 42.31 points, 0.3%, to 12,967.37. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index closed down 2.88 points, 0.2%, to 1,406.29. The tech-laden Nasdaq composite index, boosted by gains in the shares of Facebook (FB) and Yahoo (YHOO), finished up 9.93 points, 0.3% to 2,976.78.

The price of crude oil closed up 1.4% to $86.67 on concerns about the Middle East. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday abruptly announced he was quitting politics, injecting new turmoil into that nation's political scene weeks ahead of general elections.

The euro gained a penny, 0.7%, to finish at 1.2969 against the dollar. And the price of gold fell $2.40, 0.1%, to close at $1,749.

Shoppers flooded stores in record numbers over the holiday weekend, according to the National Retail Federation. The organization says 247 million shoppers visited stores and websites during the Thanksgiving holiday, up 9.2% from last year. And investors are anxious to see how retailers fared on Cyber Monday.

However, a new report from the National Economic Council and the Council of Economic Advisers said that if the current budget impasse remains unresolved, a sudden increase in taxes for middle-income taxpayers could reduce consumer spending nearly $200 billion in 2013.